


Terms and Conditions

by redluna



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Friends With Benefits, Jealousy, M/M, Public Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:40:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23361106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redluna/pseuds/redluna
Summary: Alistair can't decide which marks him as more of a disaster—becoming friends with benefits with his RA or getting jealous Cullen could look for the same thing in anyone else.
Relationships: Alistair/Cullen Rutherford
Comments: 11
Kudos: 37





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for:  
> -Dancing (dirty or otherwise)  
> -Friends with benefits

Alistair knew that he wasn’t what anyone would call clever. Even the most convincingly good-natured arguments made by his friends couldn’t erase the memories of Isolde’s curling lip or the titters that had followed each awkward move he made.

College had been meant as a chance to get away from all that; the surest fresh start he could have. Instead he had managed to goof it all up in a single go by falling into bed with his RA within the first semester.

The worst sign yet had to be that Morrigan actually  _ approved _ of it.

“If anything congratulations are in order.” She wielded the cup in her hand like it was made of fine glass rather than plastic, smile almost too sharp to be called one at all. “Here I had begun to think you were incapable of the task, and you landed such a catch on your first try. Think of all the opportunities this presents us with.”

“Oh,” Leliana murmured, somewhere into the rim of her own cup, “I already know I won’t enjoy this.”

Morrigan clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, eyes already rolling. “Play virtuous all you want,” she said, “but even you have to see the wisdom of it. All the more when  _ you _ are the one so determined to take ‘after hours’ trips around campus.”

“Wait, what are you…” Something unpleasant sunk into Alistair’s stomach at the lift to Leliana’s eyebrows. “I’m not using Cullen for that.”

“Then what, pray tell, is the point of it all?” Morrigan demanded. “He cannot be  _ that _ good in bed. Not when he’s too a prude to even know what to—”

“Don’t talk about him like that!”

Morrigan wasn’t the only one surprised by the outburst, but she was the one who recovered the quickest. Her eyes narrowed for a split second before her face became the mix of disappointment and disgust he found far more familiar. “Of course,” she said. “You just had to go and bring  _ feelings _ into the matter.”

Zevran reached over to bat him on the knee, either for comfort or to head off yet another argument. In the end, it was probably a combination of the two. “Now I see why you are trying to get so drunk tonight, my friend,” he said.

“I’m hardly…” Alistair trailed off when he caught a familiar head of blonde curls. He hadn’t thought Cullen would be at a party like this unless it was to shut it down. He almost hid his own beer out of instinct until he realized just what—or  _ who _ —Cullen was smiling so openly at.

Ellana Lavellan was a slight, pretty young woman. Someone who shared enough classes with Alistair for him to know her mind was whip sharp as well. The type of girl that Morrigan would never admit to scowling at, from time to time, when they would drift too close to Mahariel.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Morrigan drawled.

Alistair barely had time to glare at her before Mahariel’s lips were against her cheek. “Alright, darling, this seems like just the right time to steal you away for a dance.”

It was impossible to know whether Morrigan’s smile towards the leader of their small group right then was seductive or murderous and Alistair wondered—not for the first time—if some sort of wire had gotten crossed into his friend’s brain. “Of course,  _ dear _ .”

She managed to hit Alistair in the head with her empty cup without even looking when she tossed it back over her shoulder, which was really just plain unfair.

“Well, I’m not about to be left out.” Leliana pushed up from the couch, grabbing Zevran’s hand—expected—and then Alistair’s in turn—far less so. 

It left Alistair a staggering mess on his way to the floor, but it was easier to bear surrounded by his friends' bright laughter. Besides, it was hard not to feel at least somewhat more sure of oneself when surrounded by two people who were the source of most of the envious looks in the room. Enough so, that he was inclined to forgive the moments they dipped in too close, laughing outright at Zevran’s attempts to grind up against him.

It could have continued that way, easily enough, for quite some time if it weren’t for the throat clearing cutting through even the ear splitting pulse of the music.

Alistair could feel his heart jumping into his throat at the sight of Cullen, but Zevran threw an arm over his shoulders before he could say a word. “Ah, if it isn’t the law.” His grin only grew louder at Alistair’s unconscious snort. “I don’t recall breaking any rules tonight.”

“No.” Leliana pressed her hip to Alistair’s own, eyes warm for all their slyness. “Not a one.”

“Somehow I doubt that,” Cullen said, and he was right to, given the two in question, “but I’m not here for that. I just wanted to talk with Alistair.”

“You sure?” Alistair’s mouth tended to run off without him even while sober, but with alcohol in his system it really was anyone’s game. Which was about the only excuse he had for blurting out, “Thought you already had a ‘friend’ for the night.”

Something pinched and tight snapped across Cullen’s face for a moment before he could hide it. “It will only be for a moment,” he said.

Alistair glanced down at the protective buffer his friends were still trying to provide before sighing. “Fine.” 

If his tone was a little sharp—enough to raise even Zevran’s eyebrows—then it couldn’t be unearned. He had already singled this out as the mistake it was, so there was really no need to prolong things. Even if Cullen was inclined to lead him to one of the quieter places outside, expression more vulnerable than he had ever seen it.

It took standing there for almost half of a minute for Alistair’s frustration to hit a new peak. “Well?” His mouth twisted when Cullen scuffed at the gravel of the driveway with the foot of his shoe. “This is the part where you tell me you didn’t bring me out here just to stand in the cold.”

“Of course,” Cullen bit back. “You have far more  _ engaging _ company inside.” He must have caught the lift of Alistair’s eyebrows when he raised his head from how he winced. “I… I didn’t mean to—”

“Good,” Alistair said. “Because it really is a bit cheap coming from you.” He grit his teeth at how Cullen’s brow furrowed. “Come on, Cullen, I’m not blind. Ellana is… She’s a lovely girl and, actually, you know what? She deserves better than to be strung along, so you better not pull the same thing on her that you did on me.”

“I… You… Hold a moment.” Cullen raised a hand. “You think that… Ellana and  _ me _ ?” There was a shake to his shoulders that had Alistair riling up all over again.

“Don’t laugh at me!”

“I’m not, I swear!” Cullen exclaimed. “It’s only… She’s leading the  _ Iron Bull _ around by the nose. What on earth would she need me for?”

“Oh.” Alistair could feel the offense slipping out of him like the air from a punctured tire, but it didn’t feel good. Just left him with little more than a hollow sort of sensation. “Then it will be someone else. Someone that will make you realize all  _ this _ —” He gestured between the two of them. “—is pointless.”

“What?” Cullen’s brow was furrowed now, even as he shook his head. “That isn’t how this works. You have your whole future here ahead of you, Alistair. You’re more capable than you give yourself credit for and certainly more kind. You’ll find someone in no time. You shouldn’t have to settle for…”

“Hang on.” Alistair couldn’t remember being wrong footed this many times in what had to be under five minutes, at least. “You think I… God, we’re disasters.”

“You’re getting it wrong again,” Cullen insisted. “I’m going to be graduating soon and I don’t even know—”

“Oh my God, shut up,” Alistair said, pressing two hands solidly to Cullen’s chest. “Shut up and let me suck you off already.”

“What?” Cullen flushed nearly to the roots of his hair with that one, jaw hanging slack. “You can’t just… Against someone’s car?” 

“Hey,” Alistair shrugged, “if you play your cards right, I’ll even let you fuck me over it. Provided you promise to take me out on a proper date tomorrow.”

“You are an absolute menace,” Cullen groaned.

“Careful now,” Alistair winked, “usually people only say that if they like me.” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because Jellysharkbat is the best enabler I know when it comes to smut.

Cullen, much to the bemoaning of his friends, wasn’t one for schemes that didn’t have a chance of ending well. It was already his job to handle the aftermath of ideas gone wrong all across campus. He wasn’t about to indulge in his own when he knew from that experience just how slim the chances of getting away with it actually were.

Except, as it turned out, it was harder than he would have thought to hold the moral high ground. Although, to be fair, he would challenge anyone to manage that when they had Alistair Theirin all but tearing their jeans open down on his knees.

It was still one of the greatest mysteries of Cullen’s life that he had even managed to get here at all. 

Alistair seemed to be the only one oblivious to the stares that would follow him across campus—some as envious as they were covetous. No one with shoulders that board or eyes so warm should have spared Cullen a second glance. Let alone pressed a trembling kiss to his lips while entirely sober after Cullen had broken up the freshmen’s first party.

At other times, he was ashamed of just how hot it ran him each time to remember Alistair’s shaky confession that Cullen had been his first. Now, though, he couldn’t quite remember why he shouldn’t feel proud of how much easier it was for Alistair to swallow around him.

Still, he couldn’t help thinking what people would see if they stumbled outside. With any luck, the entertainment inside would be enough. And, besides, it wasn’t as if he was unaware of what went on at times like these. At most they would only get a couple of giggles or embarrassed mutterings before people hurried along.

Unless, of course, they lingered for long enough to see who exactly the two people were. Which,  _ really _ , shouldn’t have affected Cullen as it did; hips hitching forward in a way that had Alistair clinging to them a second after.

“I… I think I see the appeal now.” Cullen reached down to slide his fingers through Alistair’s hair. There was a hint of breathlessness around the edges of his laugh already when the other boy preened at the touch. “Want everyone to see who I belong to, huh?”

There was a little alarm in Alistair’s eyes, which would have had Cullen more concerned if it weren’t replaced by a firm hum a heartbeat later. The sudden burst of cool air across his cock when Alistair pulled back was less welcome, however.

“Maybe I do.” Alistair fitted a loose hand around his cock; the squelching sounds it made against the spit, even above the thrum of music inside, somehow what made Cullen’s ears heat up after everything else. “But I think you do too. So why don’t I get over the hood of that car, yeah?”

“We… We don’t have any…” Cullen swallowed hard when Alistair rose, all but draping himself over the car. Boxed in as they were, he would have had his pick, but,  _ of course _ , he had to choose one angled towards the party. “Alistair, we don’t have any—”

“You think I didn’t prep beforehand?” Alistair asked. It would have been cavalier if not for the shade of pink across the high arch of his cheeks or how quick he was to gasp as Cullen pressed up against his back all at once.

“What were you expecting?” Cullen knew it shouldn’t have come out as a demand, not with Alistair arcing against him as he slid a hand down the back of his jeans to find the other boy’s hole as dripping as he claimed. But he could still remember with a little too much clarity exactly how it had lanced through him to find Alistair on the dance floor, pressed tight between people more bold and beautiful than he could ever hope to be.

“You,” Alistair groaned, hands slamming down on the car. It really was a wonder they hadn’t managed to set off a car alarm already. “When aren’t I expecting you?  _ Wanting _ you?”

Cullen should have been more careful. It would have been enough for gossip of this to spread throughout the college—your typical sort of scandal. But, add an RA to the mix, and things were bound to become more interesting.

Except, apparently, that was a difficult thing to handle when Alistair’s only response to having his jeans torn down was to press his ass backwards to  _ present _ . The whines that came when Cullen pressed in fingers rather than something else, however, had him chuckling.

“What?” It was an effort for Cullen to keep his voice unaffected, but it was worth it for the almost pout Alistair angled at him over his shoulder. “Can’t be sure how long ago you did it. One of us needs to keep their heads about them.”

He was more than willing to be that person too when it meant that he got to watch Alistair squirm about, smearing pre-come onto the car of what would no doubt later be a very pissed off student. But, honestly, anyone who brought their own cars to these things had to know the risks they were taking.

Or, at least, that was what Cullen kept telling himself as he had Alistair trying to lick at his fingers as he slid into the other boy. It meant he got his fingers outright nipped at when he bottomed out, but that was an easy price to pay. All the more so when he had Alistair almost threatening to leave scratches across the hood of the car.

“You are incredible.”

It was true now, when no amount of careful fingering ever seemed to make Alistair not almost as tight as he had been the first time. And true any other time, when he had Alistair curled up against his side to bad mouth a movie or whispering jokes into his ear at floor meetings.

“C—Careful now,” Alistair choked out. There was a hand reaching back to scrape along the back of Cullen’s neck, as though to meld them even closer. “You’re startin’ to sound like a...uh...person in...love.”

Cullen dug his fingers in tight at Alistair’s hips on the next thrust, wondering, as he listened to the howling only barely swallowed up by the music, if he could manage to make him come just from this. 

“ _ Good _ .”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, I didn't write this one during work (mostly).


End file.
